The only thing that Anglican Bishop of Ballarat Garry Weatherill salvaged from his stolen, burnt-out car in 2018 was a prayer book - everything else, including a special heirloom crozier, or staff, was gone.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Late last year, he received a new one from students at Ballarat Grammar at their annual presentation night.
"I was completely speechless, I really was," he said.
"It's not often I'm speechless, I'm a professional talker, but I was struggling to hold back the tears."
The staff was originally made for the former Bishop of Newcastle, Bill Johnson, in 1936 when he was elected to become Bishop of Ballarat.
One of his archdeacons had a copy of the staff made for himself when he became Bishop of Bendigo many years later.
Bishop Weatherill explained that a former teacher from Ballarat Grammar, Stephen Walsh, had made a copy of the Bendigo copy - made of bronze with a silver coating.
The staff is collapsible, and fits into a custom-made leather satchel, also made by Mr Walsh.
But the original staff, which has now been lost, had a special connection with Bishop Johnson - his daughters had gifted the staff to Bishop Weatherill.
"They said, our dad was a lovely man, and we'd like you to have his staff," he said.
"I was very touched, of course, I thought how beautiful, and it was a lovely thing, but it got nicked."
While the Bishop of Ballarat has a ceremonial gold crozier, this handmade silver staff will be used for day-to-day duties.
"The big gold one I don't usually take out of the cathedral, so this is the one I would normally take, for confirmations (and) whenever I do any pastoral activity, and always at the Grammar school now," Bishop Weatherill said.
"This is the one that people will see me around with most often.
"This is meant to be the shepherd's crook - Jesus, the good shepherd, laid down his life for his sheep, and a bishop should care for his people, look after them and keep them safe."
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.